Summer Reading–from your ECC Library staff & librarians!

Each year we do a post on books we have enjoyed and suggest for summer reading.* Here are some old and new favorites! Items available in the ECC Library collection are noted.

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. It is a graphic novel memoir that is both funny and sad about the challenges of taking care of aging parents. I was surprised at how much it made me laugh considering the topic.–Stacey Shah, Distance Learning Librarian. Available atECC Library

LaRose by Louis Erdrich. A tragedy almost destroys neighboring families but an arrangement based on Ojibwe tribe tradition acts as a catalyses to help them heal and come to a new appreciation of each other. Rich storytelling from a renowned Native American author. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Ficton. –Barb Evans, Reference Librarian. Available at ECC Library

The Girl Before by JP Delaney. In my constant search for reading all books with “girl” in the title, I just finished this fresh thriller. It takes place in a minimalist, state of the art, high tech smart house built by an eccentric architect. The occupants have to agree to some unusual rules to be able to live there. Throughout the history of this fabulous home a few unexplained deaths have happened. The story keeps you guessing until the end! –Kristy Yemm Pemrich, Library Clerk.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. A fateful summer in his youth colors the rest of Trond’s life in this memoir-like story of life and loss by Norwegian author, Per Petterson. A short but powerful story. –Barb Evans, Reference Librarian. Available at ECC Library

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. This seaside tale features several women who are amateur scientists in 19th century England. One particular woman, poor and uneducated Mary Anning, has a unique gift to spot fossils no one else can see. When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton, she causes major upsets in the religious and scientific communities of the day. –Barb Evans, Reference Librarian. Available at ECC Library

Cover from Amazon.com

Design for Dying and Dangerous to Know by Renee Patrick. Totally frivolous and an easy read, but a decent option to take to the beach if you like mysteries, strong female characters, and 1930s Hollywood. —Maria Bagshaw, Reference/Instruction Librarian

The Portable Dorothy Parker. Containing poetry, articles, stories, and letters, this collection still resonates as snarky and caustic today. My favorite collection is the poetry missive Enough Rope, which was published in 1926 and is both hopeful of love and yet aware of the pain it inevitably had caused. –Maria Bagshaw, Reference/Instruction Librarian. Available at ECC Library

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. From the Amazon description: “In these pages, Hope takes us back to her Minnesota childhood, where she spent hours in unfettered play in her father’s college laboratory. She tells us how she found a sanctuary in science, learning to perform lab work “with both the heart and the hands.”—Jen Schlau, Reference/Instruction Librarian.

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. A great memoir/insight into working class culture, particularly those in Appalachia who ended up in what is now the Rust Belt (Ohio, Pennsylvania, some Michigan)–Jen Schlau, Reference/Instruction Librarian. Available at ECC Library

Homegoing – A work of fiction about how slavery altered the course of two family lines.–Jen Schlau, Reference/Instruction Librarian

Courtesy of Amazon.com

The Nix by Nathan Hill. This sprawling novel grabbed me from the beginning. Hilarious skewering of higher education, and lots of heart to boot! I loved this book. –Julie Keating, Reference Librarian. Coming soon to ECC Library!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. A beautifully written account of a Russian aristocrat who is sentenced to house arrest in one of the most glamorous hotels in Moscow. –Julie Keating, Reference Librarian.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. This work “takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge.”–-Julie Keathing, Reference Librarian. Available at ECC Library

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. A heartbreaking story about music, language, and love. A group of terrorist hold their hostages for several months. Many of them do not share a language, but they all share a love for Roxane Coss’s (a famous opera soprano) singing. It is her music that creates a space for compassion and love.–Kristina Howard, Reference/Instruction Librarian. Available at ECC Library

*Other summer reading suggestions can be found here under the Book Review tag, or view the 2015 and 2016 Summer Reading posts for more titles.